Be My Shelter
by mandaelrose
Summary: Peeta and his father leave their terrible past behind and move to Silver Lake, which is a small town that is closer to the center of Panem. Peeta is going to visit Silver Lake High at the time of a new beginning semester in the end of summer. Peeta is hurt and the past left him traumatized. Can he find someone that will heal his wounds and provide him shelter? (A Peeta/Cato Fic)
1. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

Peeta unpacked the last carton with the inscription 'Kitchen' and stowed the final pair of dishes into the cupboard. He sighed silently and glanced over to his father who was standing in the hallway.  
>He looked back at Peeta and then smiled softly at before he made his way towards the cellar door.<br>Peeta, who still stood in the kitchen, turned around and looked at all the empty cartons that formed stacked hills that made their way up to the entrance. He was relieved that they were finally finished with unwrapping and tidying up the most important things.  
>Even though Peeta felt like a huge load was taken off his shoulders, a queasy feeling started to spread in his stomach at the same time. The thought of a new high school, new surroundings, new people and new adaption scared him. He knew he had to start all over again and he hoped it would be easier this time.<p>

_One year ago Peeta's family made a summer vacation in their beach house in the Hamptons. On their last night a terrible storm raged down the coast. Peeta and his father just came back from a walk at the sea and ran towards the building as the disaster took its course.  
>A terribly loud lightning forced a huge fir to crash into the roof of the beach house. Tragically Peeta's mother and younger brother Lucas had been inside the house which was right in front of their eyes all of a sudden wrecking into million pieces. Peeta and his father had to observe how the huge dark, almost black tree destroyed everything underneath with an explosion-like, crashing sound.<br>Peeta and his dead screamed, called their names and screeched for help in hope of getting answers or callbacks from their loved ones but the only sounds that were audible were the whistling wind, the smashing wood and the loud sobs coming from Peeta's and his father's mouthes.  
>Within seconds the vacation house had been completely destroyed and Peeta's mom and Lucas had to be dead in seconds. There were no doubts.<br>The final reason to take the step to move to Silver Lake, which is closer to the center of Panem, occurred when 3 months ago a terrible incident happened to Peeta. That one dark and lonely night was meant to change Peeta's personality and life forever._

Peeta stepped towards the kitchenette and took a medium big carton, which was laying on the kitchen table, into his hands. He looked at the white note that stuck on top of the cardboard, and read its inscription to make sure it was the right box. It said 'Peeta's Stuff'. He picked up the carton and left the kitchen.  
>Peeta walked down the empty, grey hallway that was only filled with a black wooden shelf and a few pairs of shoes. When he reached the stairs he blunderingly stumbled over the first step which caused him to let the box fall to the floor whereupon a few things fell out of the carton and scattered on the ground. Peeta kneeled down and put the things back into his package. After that he took the box back in his hands and walked upstairs. When he entered the first floor he immediately focused his gaze on the white wooden door that was at the end of the hallway. He stepped towards the bright door, pressed the door handle and walked into his new room.<p>

It was bigger than his old room but also scarily blank and silent. It had two big windows that were hidden behind grey curtains and a pale big burgundy red carpet laid on the dark parquet floor and gave the room a slightly warmer feeling.  
>Peeta's glace traveled up to his new bed that had bed linen and cushions in the same red color as his new carpet. It stood in the right corner by the right side of the door and had a chestnut brown dresser with a white lamp on it. Next to the lamp stood an alarm clock and the drawers of the dresser were still empty. On the opposite side of the room there were a hazelnut brown desk and an equally colored chair that stood next to a big white shelf. The walls in the room were plain white and had no wallpaper.<br>Peeta turned his head and looked at the few moving boxes that stood next to the door frame and were filled with his clothes, books and other several personal things. Peeta sighed tiredly at the thought of still having to unpack his stuff and let himself fall on his new bed, which was very soft and padded with many pillows. He loved to feel secure and protected; a feeling he didn't sense for a while and if so only found in his bed under the sheets, where the warmth was comforting his body.  
>Although Peeta still had to unbox a lot of cartons he yet needed to catch some fresh air and clear his head. He stood up from the red bed, grabbed his black wool jacket and walked out of the door.<p>

After Peeta ran down the stairs and walked into the kitchen he saw sat his father sitting on one of the kitchen chairs while eating an apple and flipping through the local newspaper.

_Since Peeta's mom and Lucas died, something between Peeta and his father had changed. His father started to give less and less attention to Peeta as he retired from his son to sink his sadness in alcohol. Sometimes there were days or even weeks where Peeta's fathercompletely ignored his son._  
><em>When Peeta needed his father he had never been there to help and comfort him. Actually no one was there to comfort and care for Peeta. He was always left alone in his room, crying and sobbing into his pillow while his father seemed to be trapped in his own paralysis, isolated from the rest of the world. His father would have been completely unreachable if there wasn't the job that was necessary to earn at least the little money they needed to live.<em>  
><em>It was the night 3 months ago that shook Peeta's fathers out of his sphere. It came to a point where Peeta's dad couldn't ignore his son anymore, but the thought came too late as the damage had already been done.<em>

_The move seemed to improve the relationship between Peeta and his father but the wounds were still deep and it would take for them to be healed up._  
><em>As part of the new change Peeta's father opened the 'Mellark Bakery', which was a component of the new house and placed on the opposite side of the building. Peeta's father was a baker and saved enough money to build up his own business.<em>  
><em>Peeta promised his father to help out in the baker as it would distract them both from their terrible past and memories and in the end there was enough work to do. Also it was an attempt to pull them both back together, which was the final reason why Peeta agreed to the whole thing.<br>_

Peeta's father looked up from his newspaper and peered expectantly at his son.

"Dad, I need some fresh air. I'll be back in about twenty minutes. Okay?"

"Of course, but make sure to take your phone. Call me when you feel bad or would like me to pick you up somewhere. Write me a message when you're on your way back home."

It annoyed Peeta how obviously his father tried to make up for every time he missed to be there for Peeta. His dad was trying too hard and Peeta couldn't forgive his father very soon, even though he'd been lucky that someone finally cared for him.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Peeta forced a small smile on his lips in attempt to calm his father.

"Yes."

"Okay, then… I will go now." He already made his way to the entrance door when his father's hand on Peeta's shoulders stopped him.

"Peeta, listen. Things changed and this is a new start, a new beginning. We can do this. This time together." His father put his second hand on Peeta's other shoulder and continues to speak.  
>"I know I haven't been fair to you at all. I should have been there for you and I know I wasn't. I can't tell you how sorry I am and I know that I should have known that something was wrong with you but my vision was blurred. When I noticed what was up it had already been too late."<p>

"Dad, I-"

"Peeta, listen! What I want to say is that I'll be by your side. You can always feel free to come to me and share your thoughts, opinions and feelings. Just once I want to be a real father for you and look into your eyes without feeling guilty even though I know it won't be ever possible. I love you my son."

Peeta nodded and inhaled deeply.  
>"Thanks for your words, dad. I just don't know how to act with all the changes. It was tough to deal with all the stuff by myself. I needed you."<p>

Peeta's father lowered his head and looked to the ground. Peeta stepped back which causes his dad's hands to fall of Peeta's shoulders. Peeta gave a last glance towards his father, who still looked down in shame, and then turned around to walk out of the house.

He didn't know why but Peeta felt angry and hurt. He quickly walked through the streets and tried observe the surroundings but most of the time he kept his sweatshirt hood on his head and looked down to his feet. The farther Peeta moved away from the new house the more frightening it felt.

As Peeta was just about to turn around and go back home he spotted the little coffee shop at the corner on the opposite street. The thought of a hot coffee sounded good so Peeta crossed the street and entered the coffee shop.

When he stepped in a hot, sweet smell welcomed him warmly. He was glad the store was very empty; two girls were sitting in the left corner in front of the window and another girl stood at the glass cabinet in front of the little cupcakes and cookies.  
>Peeta walked to the cabinet and stood right next to the girl. She had ebony brown hair that was tied into a braid and hung casually over her right shoulder. She had an olive skin tone that matched her hair really well.<p>

"A latte macchiato with extra milk, please." Peeta ordered in a tired tone and looked up to all the different coffee varieties that were lined up on the black shelf that hung on the wall.

"Of course, one moment, please." The woman behind the showcase smiled warmly and turned around to create the coffee.

Peeta was surprised by how friendly the service was. He slightly turned around to look at the room. The two girls that sat on the window disappeared and the girl with the braid next to him still peeked at all the delicious cakes.  
>There was a calming silence in the shop and the only audible sound was the brewing coffee.<p>

"Which one would you take?" A playful voice filled the silent air which caught Peeta's attention. He slowly turned around to see who the girl was talking with but since he was the only person left besides her she must have meant to address him on purpose.

"Hmmm? Which one?"

"I-I-I don't know." Peeta mumbled. It still frightened him to talk to foreign people, especially after what had happened.

The girl looked up from her place and glanced thoughtful at Peeta.  
>"Let me think, you're new, aren't you? Yes, I'm sure. I have never seen you before."<p>

Peeta nodded awkwardly and hoped he didn't have to explain himself about why he came here.

"I'm Katniss, nice to meet you." The girl said. She stretched her hand out and smiled towards Peeta.

For a few seconds Peeta just stared at the outstretched hand and then looked into Katniss' eyes. She had beautiful deep grey eyes with a shade of blue. Katniss already had a questioning look on her face while she waited for Peeta to take her hand.

"Peeta." He took Katniss', hand and shook it. Out of some reason she smiled widely at him.

"Peeta what?"

"Peeta Mellark. We came here yesterday night. My father owns the new Bakery, which is a couple of streets from here." Something made Peeta feel comfortable around Katniss and he started to release his tension.

"Aah, I see. So, since you're new in town I guess you will go to Silver Lake High which is starting tomorrow since it's the begin of a new semester and we're at the end of summer. A good time to come here. Otherwise it could be hard to get used to all the new impressions. Silver Lake is a beautiful little place. You're going to like it here." Katniss played with her braid.

"From what I've seen Silver Lake is nicer than where I used to live before." Peeta sighed and looked down at his feet. "A lot nicer."

"Oh really? Where are you fro-"

"You're latte macchiato is ready – with extra milk. That would be 2,50$, please." The service handed Peeta the drink and gave him a wink. Peeta was relieved that Katniss had been interrupted since he really wasn't in the mood to tell where he was from. At least not yet.  
>Peeta paid immediately and turned back to Katniss.<p>

"Katniss, I need to go, I'm sorry but my dad is waiting already. It was nice to talk to you nonetheless, bye!" Peeta left the shop and received an awkward wave from Katniss, who was stunned from Peeta's quick disappear.

Peeta drank a sip from his hot macchiato while he fastened his steps so he would be back soon. He didn't want his father to worry unnecessarily but unluckily Peeta had spent ten minutes in the coffee shop and would at least need another fifteen minutes to reach his new house.

The warm drink tasted amazing and Peeta already knew this would be a shop he'd visit more often.  
>As it became late a cool wind started to fly over the streets so Peeta pulled the hood over his head and fastened his steps once more.<br>While he took a few more sips from the hot drink he thought about Katniss and how nice she'd behave towards him. Maybe she could be his first friend here in Silver Lake.

Peeta was so concentrated on his thoughts that he didn't notice another fast walking person that was crossing the street and aiming straight towards Peeta.

"Watch out!"  
>The loud call ripped Peeta immediately from his thoughts and he quickly looked up to see what was wrong but suddenly he felt an extremely hard resistance like he ran into a wall and lost his balance.<br>The impact took over Peeta like a brutal slap and his vision blurred for a second before he fell to the floor and landed harsh on his bottom. A sharp pain spread in Peeta's backside and bone and tears were already about to build up in the corner of his eyes but he pulled himself together not to cry in front of a stranger.  
>Startled from the shock he looked up to the person he ran into. Unluckily Peeta spilled his hot coffee all over the clothes from the now brown-stained guy, who was obviously outraged and looked down at Peeta.<br>Then Peeta saw the annoyed, angry stare that was coming from the taller guy and Peeta felt awfully frightened. He didn't know how to react and how to get out of this situation so first of all he tried to find his balance and stand up.

"Shit, are you serious?! DAMN! Can't you take fucking care?! Your fucking coffee is splattered all over my body!"

"S-s-sorry. I-I didn't s-see you. I-I'm s-so sorry!" Peeta weirdly stuttered. The smaller blonde managed to regain his balance and stand on his feet. Peeta now had a better view of the person in front of him and was surprised by the impressive beauty.  
>The boy had beautiful ice-blue piercing eyes, bright blonde angelic hair and a very athletic and hard muscled body. He was taller than Peeta and had broad shoulders.<br>He looked expectantly at Peeta and waited for him to say anything but Peeta knew if he would try to explain and excuse he would probably burst out in tears.  
>It's been a while since Peeta had been so close to a person and found himself in such a threatening situation that it scared him immensely. He definitely didn't want a repetition of what happened months ago.<p>

"S-Sorry, I-I-I need to g-go." Peeta managed to mumble in a hoarse tone and he then quickly turned around and ran off.

"HEY! Where do you think you're going! Wait!"  
>Peeta heard the other guy call after him but that only alarmed Peeta more to speed up his pace.<p>

"I'm Cato, who are you?" The athletic guy screamed but Peeta was already too far from Cato to hear his words.

At the next crossroad Peeta made a small break and supported on the street lamp. He was panting and gasping heavily in a desperate attempt to recover his breath and be able to walk home. He sprinted for a few minutes through the streets and was now completely exhausted.

When Peeta was able to breathe again he looked up from the streetlamp and tried to orientate his location but as soon as Peeta looked at the different alleyways he didn't recognize any of the streets.  
>He had no idea where he was.<br>Time flew by and it became scarily dark and the night was already dawning. Peeta was lost and the street signs became hard to recognize because of the lack of light. The last time he'd been completely alone in the dark without any protection something awful happened.

An awkward feeling started to build up in Peeta's stomach. It crawled up to his throat and tied it up which caused Peeta to breath heavily.

He made a few steps forward until he reached a faded, old bench. He sat down and tried to concentrate on his thoughts to prevent them from bringing the memories of that one cold night back up.  
>With each second Peeta felt worse as the suffocating feelings in his throat and stomach increased its pressure which forced the blonde boy to crawl into the corner of the bench in a frustrated attempt to find shelter. He pulled his legs to his torso and pressed his knees to his chin.<br>Peeta felt the need of release and the urge to free himself from the tension that was dazing his senses. His eyes burned and a single tear slipped out of his eyes. Hundred more follow in seconds and totally blurred his vision. The silent cries turned into loud panting sobs which Peeta tried to hide in his lap.  
>The terrible memories were brought back and penetrated Peeta's brain brutally.<br>How could they do what they did? What they did to him. How could they do that? How they screamed his name and trapped him in their power. They were five against one.  
>Peeta had been in so much pain and now he felt it all over again without it actually happen in real.<br>His sobs became more desperate and loud; he didn't know what to do. Peeta sat alone on the bench, far apart from his new home, sitting in the unknown. Peeta wasn't able to form a clear thought neither make a productive movement. He was in a paralyzed shock.

Suddenly Peeta heard hectic squeaky tires driving through the alleyway. At once huge, glaring white lights were shining right into Peeta's eyes, which caused him to blink heavily. In the meantime it became pitch-dark and Peeta's eyes got used to the dark surrounding.

"Peeta! Oh god, Peeta!" A shaky voice echoed from the bright lights and Peeta only barely realized the words as his sobs sounded loud in his own ears. Nonetheless Peeta thought to remember that voice. It was his father.

The last thing Peeta remembered were strong arms that looped around his body and carried him into the car. He'd been sat on the backseats and everything went black as soon as the car drove up.


	2. Chapter 2 - Mystery And Confusion

Peeta opened his eyes as soon as he awakened from his sleep. His head ached badly and his vision was still heavily blurred wherefore he shut his eyes again. The memories from last night faded his mind and his brain tried its hardest to recollect a correct order of what had happened.  
>Peeta brought his hands to his still closed eyes and rubbed and massaged those several times in order to adapt them to the bright light and soothe the uncomfortable sting in his eyeballs. When the burning feeling in Peeta's eyes had calmed, he straightened himself into a sitting position and observed his surroundings.<p>

Eventually Peeta was lying in his bed in his new room. The deep burgundy red cover was still lying on top of his torso. He starred down his body and noticed that he'd been wearing simple boxer shorts and a grey t-shirt.  
>Then the blonde remembered that it was his father who picked him up from the alleyway yesterday after he'd been having a nervous breakdown on the bench. Peeta's father must have brought him into his room, exchanged his clothing and laid him down in Peeta's bed.<br>Peeta felt ashamed and embarrassed of what happened the night before and he was extremely relieved and thankful that his father found him in the dark.

Peeta's gaze travelled to the right to his night clock which announced that it was still early in the morning. School would only start in two hours and Peeta had enough time to get ready for it. He stood up from the bed and walked over to one of the cartons, which were still placed next to the door frame, to grab out a towel and take a warm shower. He still had to unpack the remaining boxes and stow his clothes and a few other things in his drawer.

Peeta went out of his room and walked down the hallway until he reached the next door on his left. He opened the door with a silent creak and walked into the bathroom. Also this room was bigger than the old bathroom and it had its own shower. Since the whole floor was like belonging only to Peeta he had the whole bathroom for himself.  
>He stripped off his shorts and t-shirt and made his way to the shower now fully naked.<br>Peeta turned the faucet on and a few warm drops immediately landed on his head, which were followed by even more water drops that formed to a soft and comfortably warm water stream which trailed down Peeta's stocky chest and abdomen until the water graced his groin and then flew down his inner thighs downwards to his feet.  
>Peeta took a deep breath and inhaled the warm water vapor. He leaned his head back so that the water was now trailing down his neck. He stayed like this for a few seconds until he let the water pour on his face. The warm water soothed and eased Peeta's muscles as well as his headache; a hot shower always helped him out. He leaned down to grab the shower gel and shampoo and started to wash himself.<p>

About ten minutes later Peeta was standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom and dried his body with the mellow, yellow towel. After that he went for his head and tried to rub off most of the moisture. Within seconds he dried the wetness out of his wheat blonde hair. Sometimes, depending on how the light fell onto Peeta's head, his hair became a slight golden shade.  
>He put the towel into the laundry bucket and grabbed for the hairdryer. Peeta blow-dried his hair just for a few seconds so it would fall naturally into his face and would dry in a quicker pace. After Peeta took his boxer shorts and t-shirt into his hands, he decided to walk out of the bathroom and dress up.<p>

Back in his room Peeta took out blue denim jeans, a white t-shirt with round neck and a simple dark blue wooly sweater which underlined Peeta's blue eye color, and a fresh black socks and a black boxer brief. He stripped the clothes on and added a splash of his favorite cologne on his neck left and right.  
>Peeta then took a glance to his clock which said it was 7AM. He had to be in school in an hour so he should go get downstairs, grab the last things together and find a good walk to his new high school.<br>Peeta swung his school bag over his shoulder and walked down the stairs.

He stepped into the kitchen and was stopped by the glare of his father who seemed to be waiting for Peeta for a few minutes already.

"Peeta we need to talk." His father said as he stirred with a spoon in his coffee.

"About what?" Peeta asked as he walked over to the fridge to take out the orange juice. He knew what his father wanted to talk about but Peeta hoped he could avoid that discussion.

"Don't act like everything was normal, because it's not. What happened yesterday? You told me those mental breakdowns had stopped!"

"They did! It was just the new dark surrounding that scared me. I promise it won't happen again, I just lost things. Dad, it's nothing you should be worried about. Okay?" Peeta tried to end this conversation as soon as it started.

"Peeta you're wrong, it is indeed something to be worried about! You will not go to the new school today but instead we will drive to the city and search for psychological help."

Peeta's mouth dropped and he frowned about what he had just heard-  
>"Are you serious right now? After all that had happened you want me to get a psychologist that recalls all the shit of my past? Too late, you should have thought about it when you drowned yourself in self-pity and alcohol and left me alone in my room for several months."<p>

"Peeta you don't understand-"

"No, now it's your turn to listen to me!" Peeta yelled and threw a hateful gaze towards his father.  
>"Once in my life I've got the chance to start all over. I want to leave the past behind and go on, we will never be able to change what had happened. Just because you found me sobbing on a bench at night, it doesn't mean that I'm a wreck. When I needed help no one gave it to me, I was all alone and had to deal with the shit by myself. I will go to school and I will leave now." Peeta walked towards the kitchen table, grabbed an apple and made his way to the entrance door.<p>

Peeta's father stood up and aimed towards his son and grabbed him by his arm. "Peeta Mellark, you're my son and you're only sixteen years old, which means that you're still not of age. You're going to do what I commend you, I'm your father!"

"Oh really? It didn't feel like I had any father at all over the last year." Peeta yelled and freed himself from his father's grip, who was stunned by his son's certain statement.  
>"Sometimes I wish I had died in the vacation house as well as mom and Lucas. It would have saved me a lot of pain and sleepless nights."<p>

Peeta furiously stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He swung the backpack over both his shoulders and walked down the sidewalk. He didn't understand his father at all, he was such a dickhead. In an attempt to calm him down, Peeta looked at his watch to see if he still got time to get a latte macchiato at the coffee shop which he'd seen yesterday down the street.  
>It was only 7:12 AM. Without even knowing how he could reach the school the fastest he decided to first of all take a stop at the coffee store.<p>

A few minutes later Peeta came to the corner with the cute, little shop on the opposite street. He crossed the street and opened the big glass door. A silent ring sounded as the door went open and Peeta stepped inside. The familiar scent of hot, sweet coffee welcomed his nose and the sound of brewing coffee filled the air.  
>Next to the glass cabinet there stood the girl Peeta met yesterday. Katniss peeked through the glass and looked at all the delicious, diverse cupcakes and cookies once more.<br>Peeta decided that a talk with the girl would be a good distraction; also maybe he could go to school with her, but of course only if she wanted to.  
>He walked towards Katniss and tapped on her shoulder.<p>

"Good Morning Katniss."

She turned around to meet the barely familiar voice.

"Ohh Peeta it's you, good Morning! Nice to see you again, I kind of thought I'd seen the last of you after yesterday."

"Sorry I had to leave so quickly. My dad gets mad quickly when I'm not home on time." Peeta's voice fell hoarse and he nervously fumbled with his fingers.

"Ah, it's fine. Don't worry. So should we go to school together or do you want to order anything?" Katniss asked and turned her body towards the exit.

"Well actually I wanted to order a latte but it seems like I forgot my money anyways, so let's just go." Peeta said the truth; he did forget his pocket in his room.

"Nah, it's fine. I take it for my account." Katniss turned around and walked towards the showcase. "One latte macchiato, please." She ordered.  
>A few seconds later the latte was ready to-go and Katniss paid two dollars. She walked towards Peeta and handed the coffee to him. "Here you are."<p>

"Thank you so much! That's probably the nicest thing someone's ever done for me." Peeta confessed and took the hot cup into his hands. The warmth directly spread through his fingers which gave him a comfortable feeling. It was a very windy late summer day so the warm coffee was a perfect thing.

The two left the coffee shop and began their walk to school. For a while there were only the sounds of their footsteps, the silent howling wind and Peeta, who sipped on his hot coffee, audible.

"So Peeta, are you excited because of the new school?" Katniss asked and interrupted Peeta from taking another sip.

"Well, to be honest yes I am and not only a bit." Peeta admitted. He felt so comfortable around Katniss that he even thought about telling her his story one day.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fine. All in all the students are quite okay and at lunch you can for sure sit with me and my friends."

"Thanks Katniss. What kind of people are there? I mean, are there any of those typical cool teens?"

"Well, yeah there are a few but I think every school has them. There are Marvel, Gloss, Glimmer, Cashmere, Clove and for sure their headquarter Cato Hadley. You should beware of him; he's very muscular and edged, very strong, he has bright blonde hair and ice blue eyes with a gaze of a killer. He's one of those bad boys you wouldn't want to cross on the school hall during the break."

"Uhm…killer gaze, blonde and a muscular build? That actually reminds me of the guy I ran into yesterday. Was he like this tall?" Peeta asked as he motioned a height with his hand which he placed one head over his in the air.

"Ohh, yes that was definitely him! He often jogs and walks around this area here, but did you say u ran into him? What happened?" Katniss turned her head to look into Peeta's face.

"Well, I – you know I had to hurry, so I kind of ran and on the next corner I bumped into him and spilled my coffee all over his body and clothes. I don't know he seemed to be very angry and outraged so I just stood up and ran off. He called something but I didn't hear it. I was really scared. Damn; I should have guessed that he goes to the same high school. Now I probably got some problems. Great…" Peeta's voice fell silent and he almost fell like throwing up.

Katniss seemed to notice Peeta's sudden pale face color. She touched his shoulder and turned him around.  
>"Hey, hey it's okay. He isn't <em>that<em> cruel, you need to really upset him so he's after you. Just act normal and behave carefully towards him, maybe he even forgot about yesterday. You should just know that he already broke a few noses so better don't let him attack you physically."

"Katniss I'm sure that was upsetting enough, who wouldn't be fucked up if someone spilled hot coffee all over your stuff and who would forget something like that? This Cato guy probably will confront me as soon as I step through the school door."

"No, don't worry. We've got Gale, Finnick, Johanna, Madge and Annie on our side and together we're at least as strong as Cato and his folks. So there is no reason to be worried, the luck is in our favor."

"Thanks Katniss, you really calmed me down. At least I shouldn't worry as long as I'm still not in school."

"Exactly." Katniss said and winked.

After a few more minutes of walking they reached the high school and stepped into the entrance hall.  
>It was 7:55 AM and in five minutes Peeta should be in his first class, though the matter was he didn't even have his timetable yet.<p>

A few people aimed towards Katniss who Peeta thought would be a few of her friends. One of the boys had ebony brown hair, grey eyes and an olive skin tone just like Katniss herself. The other boy had bronze-brown and slightly curly hair; he was tall and had a very stocky build. Then there was a girl, who had blonde shoulder-long hair, which curled towards the end, and bright blue eyes.  
>They seemed to be friendly, but Peeta wanted to avoid any further discussion about whom he was and where he came from so he quickly turned around to Katniss.<p>

"I will just stop by the school office, get my timetable and introduce myself to the headmaster. See you later at lunch." Peeta whispered into Katniss' ear.

"Okay, good luck. We're always sitting on the right side of the windows." Katniss said back and Peeta nodded with a smile.  
>"Bye!" She called as Peeta walked off.<p>

Peeta reached the hallway with the red door that had 'SCHOOL OFFICE' written on it. He went to the door and knocked gently. The door immediately opened.

"Ah, you have to be Peeta Mellark, am I right?"

Peeta nodded.

"Hello Peeta and Welcome to Silver Lake High. We've got the best education in the whole town I tell you that right now." The man laughed and stretched out his hand to Peeta. "I'm school Principal Mr. Plutarch Heavensbee. Nice to meet you, Peeta."

"Thanks Mr. Heavensbee, I really like it here. It seems to be a nice school." Peeta said and shook the Principal's hand.

"Well, I hope so!" Plutarch laughed again. "I am very busy at the moment, but my guidance counselor Ms. Effie Trinket will tell you all the important stuff and give you your timetable. See you soon, Peeta."  
>The man smiled and tapped Peeta's shoulder before he walked off and left the hallway.<p>

"Hello Peeta, I'm Effie Trinket but you can just call me Effie. Welcome to Silver Lake High.  
>Here's your timetable. Your first class will be geography with Mr. Abernathy." The woman in a pink and white costume with platinum-blonde hair said as she gave a piece of paper towards Peeta. Her voice was very high and her tone sounded nearly fake-friendly.<p>

Peeta mumbled a 'thank you' when Effie already grabbed out a stack of books and a big notebook and pushed these into Peeta's hands, who let out a silent sigh.

"Yes, I know these are quite heavy but they are only for your best. Those are your now belonging education books. The one on top of the stack is a book about rules and instructions of Silver Lake High. Oh and before I forget it, this is your code for your locker. The code is '1234' and your locker number is 74. Don't forget to change the code as soon as you opened it. Now hurry up and go to class!" Effie put the key on top of the rulebook and pushed Peeta on his way.

"Thank you, bye Effie." Peeta said as he stumbled towards the lockers. His number was 74 so it was on the left side. It was already a few minutes after eight so he had to hurry.  
>Finally he found his locker and turned the number wheel until the lock clicked and the small door opened. Peeta threw his books inside except the geography book and quickly shut the door. He gave in a new code, '1375', and looked at his timetable. Mr. Abernathy's s geography class is in room 102.<p>

Peeta hoped the teacher wouldn't be in class already and ran down the hallway as quickly as he could.  
>He just ran around the corner as he suddenly met a harsh impact and fell down to the ground.<br>Peeta looked up to meet the same ice-blue piercing eyes he'd crossed yesterday after he spilled the coffee all over the boy's body.

"Holy crap, aren't you the dude who ran into me yesterday as well? I can all too well remember that you spilled your hot drink over my clothes!" The blonde tall guy said with an angry but also playful voice.

Peeta felt even more frightened than yesterday and he didn't understand how he could be so stupid and run into this guy again.  
>"I-I'm so sorry, I-I-"<p>

"You still owe me a new top, you know that right?"

"Of c-course, I-I, but I d-don't … have a-anything w-with m-me." Peeta mumbled and forced himself to stand up, but the blonde brute was still way taller.

"Hey, know what? It's fine; I've got enough money to buy me a stack of new tops just because I want to. Just take care of yourself the next time you cross a corner." The opposite boy said and had a mysterious smile on his face.

"I-I d-don't understand… so-" Peeta was confused but he had been interrupted.

"You should go to lesson; you don't want to be too late for class, do you?" Cato asks and turns around to walk down the hallway where Peeta came from.

Peeta was stunned, confused and shocked. _Was that the boy Katniss said that was threatening, dangerous and should be bewared?!_  
>But Peeta was ripped from his thoughts when the blonde turned around. Peeta looked expectantly at him and almost feared that the boy had changed his mind.<p>

"What's your name?"

"P-Peeta. Mellark. Peeta Mellark." He said confused and tried to find out what the tall blonde was up to.  
>Cato suddenly smirked that mysterious smile again and took a step back.<p>

"Welcome to Silver Lake High, I'm Cato." He said and then turned around and left the corridor.

_"I know."_ Peeta thought. He knew this name already. Katniss had mentioned it to him previously but Peeta would have never matched this name to the person he just talked with. Even yesterday after Peeta had spilled the coffee all over Cato, he seemed to be a killer machine but from what Peeta had just experiences, Cato was way nicer than he had ever imagined. Was there anything that changed Cato's mind or were people just wrong about him? He would probably have to find out by himself.

* * *

><p>The school bell rang and the first two lessons were finally over. Mr. Abernathy was a really nice and cool teacher, but his geography lessons were extremely boring.<br>Katniss also had geography with Mr. Abernathy and luckily the seat next to her was free. As soon as Peeta stepped into the room, Katniss had waved him towards the empty seat next to her, but Peeta had to introduce himself to class with two sentences before he was allowed to sit down.

Outside the geography class Katniss caught up with her friend Madge, who was the blonde girl Peeta had seen earlier this morning. They greeted each other and then all three made their way to the cafeteria.

"So Peeta, do you like it here?" Madge asked as she waved her hair from her right shoulder.

"Yeah, I like it. People are pretty nice towards me." Peeta said and smiled.

Katniss quirked an eyebrow towards Peeta, who had a wide smile on his lips.  
>"What's up, Peeta?"<p>

"Well, I told you about Cato this morning, right? Before class I ran into him again…"

"So? What did he do?" Katniss asked and her face filled with shock.

"Nothing. He actually did nothing; he asked me for my name and welcomed me to Silver Lake High. He said I wouldn't need to pay his top, because he would have enough money to buy him as much as necessary."

"Wow, really? Are you sure that was Cato you ran into, like completely sure? That doesn't seem to come from Cato at all." Katniss asked and played with her braid.

"Yes it was him; he even mentioned his name towards me." Peeta responded and looked at Madge.

"That's so weird; normally Cato would have thrown you up the wall the second you bumped into him. Though it's good he didn't, that would have been a fucked up first day." Madge said and smiled.

Peeta nodded and Katniss just said how lucky he was.

Then they reached the cafeteria and they were aiming towards the table with Katniss' friends.

"So, there we are Peeta. This is our table. Let's sit down; I want to introduce you to everyone."

Peeta nodded nervously and stepped to the group of people.

"Everyone, that's Peeta Mellark, he came here this weekend and now he's visiting Silver Lake High. He is really nice so let's welcome him. This is Gale, Finnick, Annie and Johanna." Katniss said and winked towards Peeta.

They all greeted Peeta in a chorus of 'His' and he greeted back.

Peeta put down his school bag and geography book next to Katniss' seat.  
>"Get you something to eat. You just need to take something from the counter with the food on it. I need to write down homework for my next class so could you get me a salad, please? That would be really kind." Katniss pleased and Peeta nodded.<p>

Peeta went to the counter with the food and got himself spring rolls. They were his all time favorite food. When he wanted to take the last salad for Katniss, suddenly a tall guy pushed him harshly to the ground, which caused him to throw his food on the floor.  
>Peeta looked up to see Cato with a row of other smirking people standing behind and next to him, which looked like as if they could be the school elite.<p>

"Back off, newbie. Want to take the last salad? Well, you should know who's in charge. We are. This is our salad." Cato said and laughed loudly. He took the salad and threw it on the floor.

"Well, I'm not hungry for salad right now. What a pity, but now you can have it." Cato kicked the salad towards Peeta.

"W-what? I-I didn't d-do a-anything. L-Leave m-me alone!" Peeta stuttered and his heart was beating loudly.

"Fuck off, Cato and leave him! Congrats it's just his first day and you already managed to ruin his impression of our school. Now you've done your job and you can piss off." A boy yelled. Peeta turned around to see that it was Finnick who came to help him.

"Be careful Finnick, you don't want me to come for you, do you? But fine, I think this newbie had enough, let's go guys." And with that Cato left the cafeteria with his folks behind him.

Finnick helped Peeta up and guided him to the table. A few minutes ago Peeta was hungry as hell but now he felt like vomiting.  
>"Thank you Finnick." Peeta mumbled and Finnick responded with a smile.<p>

Back at the table Katniss took Peeta's hand and asked if he was alright. Peeta said yes, he was just totally confused and shocked.

"But what happened? I mean, you told me he was nice to you this morning, right?" Katniss asked nervously.

"I don't know Katniss, I have no idea, I just know that I will avoid Cato for the rest of my school life." Peeta answered and took his school bag as the bell rang to say that the next two lessons are going to start. He waved goodbye and walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>The rest of the school day was quite okay.<br>After lunch Peeta had two hours of math lessons and unfortunately he sat two seats further next to Cato. The teacher was Mr. Beetee, who was quite lame but clear and well organized at explaining.  
>After that Peeta had two lessons of his favorite subject with Katniss. It was nothing else than arts. Their arts teacher was Cinna, who liked to be named just by his forename.<p>

After school Peeta and Katniss exchanged numbers and they walked home together. Both noticed that Katniss only lived two streets from Peeta apart which meant they could meet each other and learn together often.

When Peeta came home his father wasn't there but a white note with a message laid on the table.  
><em>'Please take the bakery this evening. I'm out and we need to earn money. You know how to make the buns and cookies. Bye – Dad'<em>

_"Great."_ Peeta thought, but he didn't have a choice. He walked upstairs to his room and sat down on his bed. He put out his math homework and started to work on the first task when suddenly Peeta's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He picked it out to find a text message from Katniss.

- _Hey Peet, want to come over and talk? Got pizza_ -

- _Hey Katniss, I would love to but I need to do homework and have to work at the bakery later, next time of course_ -

- _Aw, okay. See you tomorrow then. Have fun with your homework – K_ -

Peeta sighed, he really wanted to catch up with Katniss but he couldn't skip the work at the bakery.

An hour later Peeta finished his homework.  
>He went downstairs, through the kitchen and living room and finally to the backside of the house to open the door that led through the house and into the bakery. He then walked to the front door of the bakery and turned the sign to 'OPEN'.<p>

This evening there were only four customers.  
>Two women who lived in the neighborhood ordered cherry tea and biscuits, a girl from school Peeta had seen at lunch bought two breads and completely to Peeta's surprise Effie Trinket entered the bakery to order a big vanilla cake with pink frosting and butter cream. She said she needed it for a birthday party for someone from her family.<p>

Not it was 8PM and the bakery was about to close. Peeta still didn't hear anything from his father. He went into the kitchen and was just pushed the last tray of buns into the oven so they would be fresh tomorrow in the morning. After that he started to do the dishes when suddenly the door of the bakery opened and the all too familiar ring sounded through the room.  
>Damn, Peeta forgot to turn the sign to 'CLOSED' and lock the door.<br>Since it was his own fault he couldn't leave the customer. Anyways he and his father needed the money so either way he would help the customer, but after that he would definitely shut the door.

"I'm coming, one moment please." Peeta called and dried his wet hands with the kitchen towel.  
>He hopefully thought that the person just wanted to buy bread or something.<p>

When he walked through the kitchen door frame and into the bakery he stopped for a moment, surprised with who stood in front of him.  
>It was Cato and he had this mysterious smile on his lips. Just the sight of this killer machine already brought Peeta's knees to wobble. He decided to treat Cato as a normal costumer and not to show how confused and frightened he really was.<p>

"How can I help, we're actually closed." Peeta said bluntly.

"Hello Peeta. You sound angry, is something up?" Cato asked with a playful tone.

"Cato, I don't want any trouble. So, please tell me what you need so you can leave and I can clean the kitchen." Peeta said sternly. It felt weird to say Cato's name after the little time they actually know each other.

"Good good, because I don't want any trouble as well. I don't need something, but I came here for a certain reason. I hoped I would meet you here."

"M-me? W-what? If y-you don't want anything y-you can l-leave r-right now, because I'm not up f-for any fights." Peeta stuttered as his fear seemed to grow bigger.

"You don't need to worry; I'm not going to hit you or something." Cato said in a calming tone as he stepped closer towards Peeta.

"What do you want then?" Peeta asked and his fear seemed to shrink, instead his curiosity and confusion grew even more.

"I want to excuse, I'm sorry that I threw you to the ground, I shouldn't have done that. It was the pressure by my friends, who wanted me to show you who the leader is." Cato explained silently and stroked his left arm while he looked to the floor. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Peeta felt another feeling that spread in his stomach. It wasn't threatening or cold but warm and calming. Did he just feel that Cato looked cute?  
>He shook the thought off and went back to reality.<p>

"Yeah… it's fine. Just don't do it again, that would be uhm nice." Peeta awkwardly said. Cato was someone he didn't understand at all. What was he going for?

"I won't. See you tomorrow then, Peeta." Cato said and winked. He turned around and left the bakery as quickly as he came, leaving Peeta, who didn't even have the time to respond, alone in the bakery.

Peeta walked to the front door, he locked it and turned the sign to 'CLOSED'. He then went back to the kitchen and finished the dishes quickly.

* * *

><p>An hour later Peeta laid in his bed. He was really exhausted from the work at the bakery. While he tried to fall asleep he couldn't free his thoughts from Cato; the mysterious boy, who confused Peeta's mind.<p>

On a further note Peeta wanted to know more about this Cato guy. He had something that awakened his interest. What was that? What was the special something that had Peeta all tied up about Cato?  
>He wanted to find out as soon as possible.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 - Feelings

The next three days went by quickly.

On Tuesday when Peeta came home from school, which luckily ended without any uncomfortable incidents between him and Cato, his father was finally back.  
>Peeta asked him where he'd been, but he didn't give any real answers instead of excusing by saying it'd been something businesslike or by changing the conversation to any non-essential topics.<br>Peeta was curious and suspicious about where his father went the past day and night, but anyway he wouldn't find out unless his father would tell him, so Peeta's only option was to wait and see.

The next day on Wednesday Peeta felt sick and ill so he didn't go to school and stayed at home. He laid in bed all day and drew some sketches, but slept most of the time. Peeta noticed that his father wasn't home and once more he'd been alone all day. In the afternoon Katniss came over and she gave Peeta his homework. Then they both were talking about school gossip and Katniss occasionally told Peeta that Cato and Finnick had a fight in the cafeteria. Eventually Cato called Annie a 'whore' wherefore Finnick punched Cato into his face which led to a battle between the two different sides. Peeta was unsure what to think about the current situation; he wondered why Finnick became so easily aggressive around Cato and why Cato called Annie a whore out of nothing. In the evening Peeta's father came back without losing a word on where he'd been whole day and acted as if everything was normal.

On Thursday Peeta was able to attend at school again.  
>His first four lessons were geography and arts in which both Peeta sat next to Katniss. The lessons were pretty boring and unspectacular.<br>During the breaks Peeta got to know Katniss' friends closer and he found out that Gale, Finnick, Madge and Annie were very nice people to talk with. For Peeta it seemed like Annie and Finnick had a special connection but who was he to judge two people he yet only knew for two days. Johanna didn't talk much and she seemed to be annoyed by some discussions at the table, but now and then she gave Peeta a small smile. In the meantime Katniss mumbled something about a party on Friday, but Peeta didn't really listen when Katniss was talking about it. He also didn't expect to be invited, but he wouldn't want to go there anyway.  
>In the last two lessons Peeta had his history class for the first time. Unfortunately no one he knew had this course as well so he had to go to the room alone. When he arrived at the history class almost every student already had a seat, but Peeta of course had no one to sit next to.<br>By the next two minutes everyone seemed to have found the perfect seat but Peeta still didn't find an empty place. The only empty spaces were next to a red-haired girl, two strangely looking guys and, to Peeta's surprise, next to Cato. The teacher walked in and when he saw Peeta standing in the middle of the room he advised in front of the whole class to "Please sit down next to Cato Hadley." Peeta let out an inner groan and made his way to Cato's table. After the fight, Katniss had told Peeta about, Peeta was once more confused and insecure what to think of Cato.  
>Was he a nice guy like he'd been acting towards Peeta in moments when they were both alone or was Cato a complete dickhead, who liked to play with other people and was only looking for stress and problems? Peeta didn't know.<br>He walked towards the empty seat next to Cato and silently sat down. Cato looked at Peeta and made the mysterious smile that Peeta knew all too well by now. Peeta shakily nodded in Cato's direction and then looked back to the front, where the teacher stood. During the teacher's speech Peeta found out that the woman in front of them was Mrs. Cresta. Peeta wasn't sure if it was Annie's mother that stood in front of them, but he would ask Annie later. Mrs. Cresta seemed to be a very nice and lovely woman, Peeta thought she explained well and that she had a good handling with the students. During the two lessons Mrs. Cresta most of the time was holding speeches and showing presentations about the most important historical facts they would have to know by the end of this year's semester. Peeta didn't exchange a word with Cato but instead he noticed that Cato was observing and staring at him very often. It kind of unsettled Peeta and he became awfully nervous every time Cato's eyes found Peeta's face. Of course Peeta never responded the gaze but still he'd been immensely confused why Cato was looking at him all the time. When the bell rang Peeta stormed out of class and made his way home. When he'd been there, he texted Katniss about that but she replied Cato had always been a weird guy so Peeta shouldn't worry about such a thing.  
>In the evening Peeta did his work at the bakery and when it closed he went to bed.<p>

* * *

><p>Another day began, today was Friday the 1st in the beginning of September.<p>

As usual Peeta stood up at 6AM and took his morning routine, which included showering, dressing up and getting ready. When Peeta finished his routine he walked down the stairs and stepped into the kitchen. He ate a banana and drank a glass of orange juice. Again Peeta's father wasn't at home this morning but Peeta didn't really bother. He was still confused and wondered if this was still some part of "playing-the-disappointed-dad" card, but in the end Peeta knew his father couldn't go on like this forever and sooner or later Peeta would know where his father had lately spent his time.

By now it was 7:26AM and Peeta should meet Katniss at the coffee shop in a few minutes. He put on his jacket, grabbed his backpack, an apple and walked out of the house. It became windier and also the temperature fell a bit. Slowly fall was present and clearly recognizable.  
>While Peeta walked down the street he noticed that the wind was way stronger than he'd thought, it constantly flied into his hair and eyes. Luckily Peeta wore a scarf today or he'd probably freeze to death. He didn't mean to remember that the autumn wind had ever been so forceful at such an early time in September, where Peeta used to live before, the wind only became that strong in mid-October.<p>

When Peeta crossed the next corner, he already saw Katniss' braid waving in the wind from afar. He noticed she got the same problem with the heavy wind as him. All the time she had to stroke several strands of hair out of her face to get a clear vision. Peeta crossed the street when Katniss saw him and waved.

"Hey, Peeta. How are you?" Katniss asked and took Peeta into a short hug.

"Hey Katniss, I'm fine, what about you?" Peeta asked while he stroked a strand of his messy hair out of his forehead.

"Pretty much the same, though this wind is killing me."

"Yeah I know what you mean, it's extremely windy." Peeta mumbled while he held his scarf in front of his mouth.

"So, which subject have you got in the first two lessons?" Katniss asked while the both were walking towards school.  
>"History." Peeta replied and exclaimed an annoyed sigh.<p>

"Cato, right? Why don't you try to kind of get along with him?" Katniss asked and stroked another strand of hair out of her face.

"Wait, didn't you say I should be careful around him? Especially when he just came into a fight with Finnick I don't want to heat things up." Peeta replied and thought about the consequences that it could have if he'd say something wrong in Cato's presence.

"Yea, but every time you'd been alone with him, he acted nicely towards you didn't he? I mean he even came to the bakery to excuse for what he did back in the cafeteria so I guess he can't be too upset about you. Just try to get into small talk, when you're stuck in sitting next to Cato for at least this semester you should definitely try to get on a good way with him."

Peeta thought about it deeply; should he try to get along with Cato to find a way to make the history lessons at least a little pleasant without worrying about how to act around Cato? It could go wrong but if he didn't try it, it wouldn't work between them as seatmates anyways. While Peeta was deep in thoughts he noticed that Katniss was right.

"I guess you're right… but still I'll be careful." Peeta said. He was lucky he found someone like Katniss in the new school. She was super nice and helpful as well.

"Of course I'm right. Trust me; I am sure it will only pay well."

A few minutes later they already arrived at the school. Peeta got his stuff out of the locker and made his way towards the class room. When Peeta reached the floor he already saw Cato walking through the door frame into the class. Out of a sudden Peeta's heart started to thump loudly, he knew he had to start a conversation with Cato in an attempt to get with him on a good level.

Then also Peeta walked through the door frame and into the class room. He walked to his table, where Cato already sat, and placed his schoolbag next to his chair. Before he sat down he looked at Cato and surprised noticed that Cato already stared at him. There was an awkward moment when they both just observed the other one until Peeta sat down with a racing heart.

"Hi Peeta." Cato finally said.

"Uhm…Hey…Cato." Peeta weirdly greeted back and turned to his backpack to grab out his books and pencils. Mrs. Cresta was still not there.  
>When Peeta turned around again, Cato was still looking at him.<p>

"What?" Peeta asked calm and raised his eyebrows that underlined his confusion.

"I think your drawings fell out of your sketch book. You didn't seem to notice, did you?" Cato asked and had a playful smile on his lips.

Peeta looked down at his feet and indeed there were laying one, two, three sketches he drew when he'd been ill and stayed home. He picked the drawings up and stuffed them back into his sketch book.  
>Peeta looked again at Cato and into his eyes, blue clashing with blue.<p>

"I-Thanks." Peeta mumbled and broke the gaze. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the front to see if Mrs. Cresta had arrived, but to Peeta's surprise she still didn't.

"Do you draw a lot?" Cato asked and motioned in the direction of Peeta's sketch book.

This was Peeta's opportunity to get into a conversation with Cato to loosen things up.  
>"W-well, yes, I do kinda. I actually always draw when I've got the time and when I don't have to work at the bakery or make any homework."<p>

"I see, looks good." Cato said and stroked through his bright, platinum blonde hair.

Peeta smiled about that and thought about how to keep the conversation going.  
>"So… how about you?" Peeta carefully asked.<p>

"About what? Oh, you mean what I like to do?" Cato asked and Peeta nodded.  
>"Well I mostly play basketball, do jogging and work out. One would say I'm quite a sports freak, but honestly I can relax and calm down the best while I'm doing any sporty activities."<p>

"Sounds good." Peeta answered.

Cato smiled and in the same second Mrs. Cresta stormed into the room.

"Sorry everyone, I was having an accident with my car, but everything's fine now. So, let's start with the lesson." Mrs. Cresta said and took out her history book.

* * *

><p>Finally the school bell rang, which marked the end of the lesson. Peeta became really eager for the break and couldn't wait until the lessons were over. He stuffed his things into his schoolbag and stood up.<p>

"Bye, Cato." Peeta said and expectantly waited for Cato's response.

"See you soon, Peeta." Cato replied and winked.

Peeta then left the class room and walked towards the cafeteria to meet Katniss there.  
>When he arrived at the cafeteria Katniss waved at him and Peeta stepped to the table.<p>

"Peeta you know Maja, don't you? She's in our geography class and she is throwing a party at her house tonight and the whole school is invited! You need to come with us!" Katniss said and made a pleading gesture with her hands.

"Katniss, I don't know, I'm not really in the mood for a party, I think I prefer to stay at home and –"

"Peeta! No excuses, c'mon it is Friday Night and you plan to stay home? No way, you'll go with us and have some fun."

"Katniss, I don't know…"

"Pleaaaase Peeta, trust me it'll be fun!" Katniss said and looked at the others to support her.

"Yes Peeta, it will be funny, you need to go with us or you'll miss something." Madge said and smiled towards him.

"Come on Peeta, It will be cool." Gale added.

Well what else could Peeta do when even Gale asked him to go to the party? Peeta sighed. "Okay, fine, but let's not stay for too long, okay Katniss?" He asked and sat down next to her.

"Perfect, I am happy you're coming with us! This will be great!" Katniss said and then slightly bent over to Peeta.

"By the way, how did it work out with Cato?" She asked in a whispery tone.

"Good, we had a nice little conversation. I think I'll get along with him throughout this semester." Peeta replied.

"That's great. See I was right all the way." Katniss exclaimed.

Suddenly Peeta had been hit by a crumpled paper ball. He immediately turned around to see Clove standing there, right next to Cato, Glimmer and Marvel, holding a salad in her right hand.  
>Confused and Surprised, Peeta didn't know what to say before another small paper ball hit his right shoulder.<p>

"Hey newbie! Want this salad?" Clove shouted and all the others laughed.  
>Peeta quickly looked at Cato who laughed as well, Peeta felt betrayed, disappointed, he didn't know how to describe how he felt, he knew since the beginning that Cato wasn't better than any other of his friends.<p>

In the next second a small salad bowl fell directly in front of Peeta's feet and he had to bend to the right side to not be hit by the glass.

"God, Fuck off you idiots!" Gale screamed and threw the previous paper ball back at them.

Then the school bell rang and Clove, Cato and the rest of them disappeared laughing.

"God I hate them so much." Katniss said while she kicked off the other paper ball that laid on the ground next to Peeta.  
>"Are you alright?" She asked as she gestured towards Peeta.<p>

"Y-yeah. F-fine. The bell rang, see you after school Katniss. Bye." With that Peeta disappeared, still mad and annoyed because of Cato. How could someone be so self-centered?

Peeta was already upset and now he had two lessons of biology and math. The day couldn't become any worse.

* * *

><p>Four lessons later the final school bell rang and the lessons for this day were finally finished.<br>Peeta left the math room and walked out of the school building. When he walked through the exit he saw Katniss already waiting at the banister.  
>The sun came out and in the meantime it became way warmer than it had been this morning.<p>

"Hey, I've been waiting for five minutes already, come on let's go, we haven't got all day!" Katniss said as she grabbed Peeta's arm and pulled him on the way.

"Katniss the party is only starting at 7PM, so why do we have to hurry so much?" Peeta asked as Katniss speeded up her pace and pulled him after her.

"Peeta we need to get us ready for the party and put out something nice to wear; it's okay that I am coming home with you, isn't it?"

"Uhm sure, my dad probably won't be home anyway, so why not. Don't you take the party a bit too serious by the way?" Peeta asked as he brought Katniss to slow down her steps.

"Of course not! It's the first party after summer and it's your first party in Silver Lake so we should definitely leave a good impression."

"Who cares about it though? It's not that I need to impress anyone."

Katniss stopped for a moment and let out a demonstrative groan.  
>"Well, mainly we get ready for ourselves and also just because it makes fun, don't you agree?" Katniss asked and turned around to Peeta.<p>

"Kinda." Peeta replied and smiled slightly. He hasn't been out for months, so maybe it could get funny indeed.

"See? Then let's go to your home and get ready."

* * *

><p>After bit more than twenty minutes they reached his house.<br>Peeta stepped towards the door, put his key into the lock and turned it until the door opened.  
>He entered the house at first to make sure if they were alone. He called for his father but he didn't reply and the house was scarily silent.<p>

Peeta turned around to face Katniss, who just walked in, and shrugged his shoulders.  
>"He isn't home. My room is upstairs, just follow me."<p>

Peeta walked upstairs and Katniss followed him, when they entered the room they sat down on the bed. Luckily Peeta unboxed the last cartons from the move when he'd been sick, so now everything was at its place.

"I like your room." Katniss said as she stood up and walked towards Peeta's wardrobe.  
>Katniss opened the doors and looked through Peeta's clothes. She picked out several things, held them in front of her face and then decided whether it would be party-fit or not.<br>Now and then she stored a few pieces of clothing on her right arm while she was searching for matching things.  
>This went on for a few more minutes and Peeta was just about to ask Katniss if she was ready, when Katniss turned around with a full outfit in her hands.<br>She picked out black tight jeans, a dark deep blue T-shirt, a dark grey cardigan and mud-brown camo boots.

"That is perfect. It's elegant and casual; the deep blue tee will emphasize your blue eye color." Katniss said and threw the stuff onto the bed, right next to Peeta.  
>"So, get ready, I'll go home and get dressed as well. Gale and I will pick you up at seven and then Finnick will drive us to the party."<p>

"Isn't that a bit late? The party itself already starts at seven." Peeta raised his brows.

"Oh Peeta, being belatedly is part of going to a party. That is kind like a golden rule." Katniss said while she threw her bag over her shoulder.

"Oh. I didn't know that." Peeta replied as he followed Katniss down the stairs.

"No problem, Peeta. Therefore you've got me, right? Okay, see you later then." Katniss said and left the house.

"Bye!" Peeta called after her as she walked through the door. She waved and then Peeta closed the door.

What would he do in the next three hours while waiting for Katniss and Gale to pick him up?  
>Peeta really hoped the party would be funny, but then again the whole school was invited, which meant that Cato and his friends would probably be there as well. Ugh, he didn't want to see Cato at all. Peeta still felt so silly for believing Cato and he could get along well with each other, but instead of changing his attitude, Cato laughed at Peeta and let his friends throw shit at him.<br>Now when Peeta thought of it he wished he'd never agreed to that party, he was definitely not in the mood for it. Whatever it was too late now anyway, so he should try to make the best out of it.

In the next three hours Peeta took a shower, put on the clothes that Katniss picked out and watched some TV. It was about 6:30PM when Peeta got a text message.

_- Will be there in about 25 mins. R u rdy? -_

- Yes Kat, I'm ready, don't worry. Didn't u say being late is part of going to a party? -

- Whtevr boy, take a jacket it's cold -

Peeta laid his phone aside and walked to the kitchen. His father didn't come home yet so Peeta made himself something to eat. He made two sandwiches with cheese, beacon and salad and now still had a half one left.  
>In the kitchen he took out a plate, took the sandwich and went back into the living room in front of the TV and ate his bread.<p>

A few minutes before seven, the door finally rang. Peeta grabbed his black outdoor jacket and opened the door. There stood Katniss and behind her was a big black jeep wherein Finnick sat at the weel and Gale on the passenger seat next to him.

"Let's go, do you have all your stuff?" Katniss asked and Peeta nodded.

Peeta looked down at Katniss and she looked great. She wore black leather leggings, black ankle boots, a midnight blue sequin crop-top and underneath that she wore a black top. Above it all she wore a woolly, grey kind of parka coat. Her hair was as usual in a beautiful braid and her makeup was simple as always, except that she wore shimmery midnight blue eye shadow, which playfully underlined her grey eyes in an alluring matter.

"You look great Katniss." Peeta said and received a smile.

"Thank you, honey." She replied and pulled Peeta out of the door frame.  
>Peeta locked the door and then they walked towards the car.<p>

They stepped in and Peeta had been greeted by a joyful 'Hi' from Finnick and a small smile from Gale.  
>The car drove off. Peeta assumed it was Finnick's car since he was driving and also seemed to be a bit older than the rest of them.<p>

"How long does it take to Maja's house?" Katniss asked.

"About fifteen minutes." Finnick replied haltingly, he seemed to be very concentrated on the road.

There was a long silence in the car until Peeta had to get rid of a question.  
>"Guys, you think Cato and his friends will be at the party as well?"<p>

"Hmm, I'd say so. But don't worry, they won't bother you unless we're in your near." Gale said. "Right Finnick?" He asked while tapping at Finnick's shoulder.

"Yeah, right." Finnick answered. "Cato's a hypocrite, a douchebag, an idiot and a complete braggart. In real he isn't as far as daring and adventurous s as he claims to be. Let's not start to talk about his friends."

Somehow Peeta bothered the way Finnick talked about Cato. Of course Cato lost all sympathy for him as well and hands down Cato's friends were awful, but those insults Finnick threw at Cato were kind of harsh and judgmental. Maybe Cato had his reasons to act the way he does.  
>Hey wait a second, why did Peeta even care about this? Wasn't Cato the one who played the nice guy just to get Peeta's trust in order to take the piss out of him and laugh at Peeta at how pathetic he actually was?<br>Or was Peeta wrong all the way and Cato claimed to be someone he is not and in the end he's after all proper and friendly? Peeta was more than confused and why the hell was he spending so many thoughts on Cato?  
>Peeta brushed his thoughts off and came back to Finnick.<p>

"Well, sure Cato's mean, but don't you think those words are quite harsh? I completely agree with you about his friends, those are some real idiots, but maybe Cato isn't as brutal and ruthless as he seems to be?" Peeta carefully asked and first didn't notice the doubtful gazes he received, even Finnick turned around for a second to give Peeta a dumbfounded look.

"Are you serious? It's probably because you don't know him as long as we do, but trust me; Cato doesn't have any good characteristic at all." Gale half laughed and said.

"Hey, maybe Peeta's right and Cato is just misunderstood." Katniss stated and added a bit of lip-gloss to her lips.

"Katniss, don't you start as well please…" Gale replied and chuckled as if the thought of Cato actually being nice was totally out of this world and unreal.

"Well, Gale I am just -

Suddenly Katniss was interrupted.  
>"We're there everyone, let's go, I am quite thirsty now." Finnick spoke as he stopped the car and turned the car key.<p>

"Okay, let's go." Katniss said and stepped out of the car door. Peeta did the same and Gale and Finnick followed them as well. The music was already audible the second they got out of the jeep.

They teamed up and walked towards Maja's house door.  
>Gale rang the ball and a few seconds later the door opened with a loud pull.<p>

"Heeey, you're there, Madge told me you were coming, come in everyone and get something to drink in the kitchen." Maja said as she waved the four teens into the house.

They walked down the hallway and went through the left door frame which led to the living room. As they entered the living room the music got extremely loud and it looked like almost half the school was already present. Peeta observed the room and looked out for Cato and his friends, but to Peeta's relief he couldn't find them.  
>Besides the ridiculous loud music Peeta noticed the uncomfortable heat that dominated the room and made the thought of stepping into the crowd and dance more than nauseating.<br>In the right corner there was a small seating area where Madge, Annie Johanna and a few more people, who Peeta didn't know, were talking.  
>Katniss, Gale and Finnick were walking towards Madge and the rest and Peeta followed them.<p>

"Hey Madge!" Katniss said and hugged her friend.

"Hii, finally! We almost died out of boredom. The people here are dancing and drinking like there was no tomorrow, but luckily you're here now." Madge replied and pointed at the crowd.

Peeta turned around and observed the room, Madge was right, everyone was going completely crazy. They drank vodka out of bottles, spilled it all over the floor and on the dancing people. Some were already heavily making out with each other while dancing so shameless that the dance floor quaked and trembled.

Peeta looked back at Madge, who just pressed Katniss and Peeta a bottle of lemon beer into their hands. Gale and Finnick denied the drink and went to the kitchen to get something else instead.  
>A few seconds later they came back with a bottle of vodka from which they both took huge sips.<p>

"Are you serious? You really aim to get drunk, don't you?" Katniss snapped and rolled her eyes.

"To be honest I do and Finnick here does as well." Gale snickered and patted Katniss' cheek.  
>"Indeed." Finnick said in a husky tone and took another sip from the bottle.<p>

"Seems like those two really don't take long to get drunk." Katniss whispered to Peeta and both chuckled.

"Let's get this party started!" Someone screamed through the whole room. Peeta and the others turned around to see Marvel standing at the entrance, carrying two bottles of vodka and another green liquor in his hands. Right behind him stood the rest of the gang and of course Cato, who had a six pack of beer in his hands, stood next to Marvel.  
>Peeta turned around in annoyance and also Katniss, Madge, Gale and Finnick seemed to be pretty pissed about the fact that Cato and his folks attended the party.<p>

The time passed and they were all talking and chatting about gossip and other unimportant stuff. Peeta all the time stayed with Katniss and Madge and throughout the evening he tried to avoid Cato and his friends as much as possible.  
>After opening another bottle of vodka Gale and Finnick became obviously drunk, they started to dance along with the music while fooling around and making weird dance moves.<br>Peeta, Katniss and Madge then also moved to the music and it seemed like this could become a funny evening. The two didn't drink much which was good for Peeta since he never really felt comfortable drinking in public and in presence of so many foreign people.

"I have an idea!" Katniss suddenly said as she waved Gale, Finnick, Johanna and Annie to her.  
>"So, why don't we play 'Spin the Bottle'?" She asked.<p>

"Puurrrfect idea." Gale hummed and put his arm around Finnick.

"Let's sit down guysss." Finnick warbled and took another big sip out of his vodka.

"Okay… but we need a bottle!" Madge said and threw her blonde curly hair over her shoulder.

"Already have one." Maja said as she stepped towards them with a few other people behind her.

"Great! The more people the funnier." Katniss said and turned around to Peeta.  
>"You'll play with us, don't you?" She asked.<p>

"Umm, of course, just let me get something to drink. I will be right back, you can already start." Peeta said and walked towards the kitchen.

In full honesty, Peeta really had no desire to play 'Spin the Bottle' with a bunch of foreign teens and people he just knew since almost one week. He only really know Katniss; Gale, Finnick and Madge seemed nice, but Peeta didn't really get to know them yet.  
>However, Peeta had no other option than to play with them, if he didn't he would seem as shy, prude, boring, anxious or whatever, either way it wouldn't end positive.<br>While Peeta walked past the whole crowd that danced in the middle, he noticed that everyone seemed to be drunk or at least tipsy and additionally there was an oppressive heat reigning the air, which became even warmer than when they first entered the party. The music became louder in the meantime and drinks, broken glasses and other liquors were spread on the floor. Peeta didn't think the party would escalate so soon. A few people were already laying on couches, either making out with each other or laying in some kind of sleep to transpire the drunkenness.  
>God, weren't that only two or three hours since the party started?<p>

When Peeta finally entered the kitchen, the window was opened and a pleasant cool air hit his face.  
>Peeta stepped to the kitchen bar and looked at the different liquors. Most of them were vodka, compari, cocktails and other alcoholic drinks that Peeta couldn't quite identify. There were also thousand bottles of beer, but Peeta didn't really enjoy the original taste of normal beer. He looked under the table and there finally stood a case with flavored beer. Peeta took out a grapefruit beer and then looked for a bottle opener. It had to be somewhere; it would be quite pointless if there were so many bottles but no opener to actually open those bottles.<p>

"Do you search this?" A voice appeared, somehow familiar to Peeta.

Bewildered Peeta turned around and unexpectedly looked at Marvel. What would Marvel want from him, why couldn't he just leave the bottle opener at the table?

"Uh...Yes". Peeta mumbled afraid.

"Take it." Marvel said and threw the bottle opener to Peeta; it landed next to Peeta on the kitchen bar. Still confused Peeta didn't think of taking the opener right now and at once Marvel walked a step closer to Peeta. What was he going for?

"Uhm…" Peeta murmured but Marvel already interrupted him.

"You are shy Peeta. Why don't you give me the opportunity to let me explore your inner-beast?" Marvel said in a hoarse tone, his voice in a playful sound.

What?! Peeta's heart pounded loud, what did Marvel just say? He couldn't be serious, was he?!

Then all of a sudden Marvel leaned down to Peeta. Their faces were only a few inches apart and Peeta was adhered to the wall so he couldn't move forwards or to the side, his heart was beating loud and fast.

"Marvel, what-" Peeta tried to interact, but Marvel shushed him. Peeta's voice was clearly frightened.  
>He looked right into Marvel's eyes and their expression scared Peeta. They were filled with lust and need and Marvel's lips formed to a greedy smile.<p>

"I'm sure you're a wild one." Marvel whispered in a purring tone, he raised his hand and brought it up to Peeta's face, but right when he was about to touch Peeta's cheek, Peeta quickly pushed Marvel from him.

Shocked from this act Peeta stormed out of the kitchen without taking the bottle with him, his heart was racing and he could feel it pounding up in his throat. Thoughts went wild in his brain and as he entered the living room everything seemed different.  
>The room was even more filled with shameless dancing people and the lights were out, only a few headlights lighted the room. The heat became even more oppressive and suffocating, the music boomed louder than ever before and it almost clouded Peeta's senses. With heavy breaths Peeta looked out for Katniss and the others, but they were nowhere to be seen. He looked at every corner of the room, but they were gone.<br>Peetas breathing became heavier and faster, he panicked in thought of being left alone. Quickly, Peeta wanted to make a search upstairs, but when he reached the stairs he suddenly tripped over a beer bottle and fell against the banister with a harsh impact. For a few seconds he laid there in an attempt to recollect his senses; the music became an inaudible, roaring, awfully loud sound that was mixed with a pounding high pitch which sounded in Peeta's ears. A terrible pain spread in Peeta's forehead and hands which cushioned his fall.  
>When Peeta got up everything was blurred, white stars were in his vision and the high pitch became even louder and the noisy music hammered even harder onto Peeta's head.<br>At once Peeta could feel a knot tying up in his lung, which made breathing even graver than it had been before.  
>All of a sudden the vulnerability, the intimate attack by Marvel and the loneliness gave Peeta a flashback from that one night three months ago; he suddenly lost things and started to hyperventilate. Peeta's stomach trembled and he was about to throw up. He couldn't take it anymore and ran completely dazed and breathless out of the house.<br>As he reached the sidewalk he crashed down on his feet from exhaustion and nausea feeling. He desperately tried to regain his breath which was accompanied by loud sobs and coughs. Peeta felt as if his body would totally shut down and leave him completely alone without every ability to retrieve control over himself.

Then suddenly Peeta felt firm grip on his shoulder and the sudden friction caused him to wince.  
>He looked up and saw Cato, who was resting his hand on Peeta's right shoulder.<p>

"Peeta? Are u alright?" Cato said in a soothing tone.  
>"Cato? What are you-?" Peeta half cried, still breathless and unable to finish his sentence.<p>

Cato then helped Peeta up.  
>"Are u okay? Do you plan to go back in there?" Cato asked and put his arm around Peeta to help him being able to stand.<p>

"No, I'll go home, but why do you even care?" Peeta choked out and slowly regained his breath.

"You can't walk home by yourself at that state, I will walk you home." Cato replied, completely ignoring Peeta's question.

"Why do you care?!" Peeta asked again, this time way more aggressive.  
>"You play nice and in the next second you mock and laugh at me, so please just leave me alone." Peeta said and tried to free from Cato's arms, but he really had a strong grip.<p>

Cato sighs. "See, Peeta. It's not that easy, but let me explain it, please."

They shared a gaze and Peeta nodded slightly, enough for Cato to go on. It's not that Peeta wasn't annoyed anymore, but still he'd wonder what Cato had to tell.

"You know, since I can remember my parents have never really been there for me. They were always busy with their jobs, giving brunches and parties, traveling around the world for important meetings and sometimes staying away from home for several months. When I was younger we often had to move from town to town so they could perform their jobs, because of that I also had several nannies. To date, my parents don't really care about me, they feed me with their money; money I don't need and have more than enough of and that's everything I get. I used to build up walls around me and now sometimes I don't know how and why I act and do things the way I do. I didn't want to come off as weak to anyone, so I started to become part of the "cool kids" and build up this whole "bad boy"-image." Cato made a short break and looked down at Peeta.  
>"I never wanted to harass you Peeta, I'm sorry for anything we've done. I will tell Marvel, Clove and the others to let you alone of course. You don't deserve it. Sometimes I don't even know what things I'm doing and I'm sorry that it hit you this time. You're the first one I'm telling this about, so please don't spread it around."<p>

Peeta was perplexed, things started to make sense snow. Did Cato say the truth? But why should he invent something like this, that wouldn't make any sense. No one would like to give out such a story about oneself. Peeta understood now and he somehow felt really sorry for Cato.

"Cato, I understand and it's okay. I forgive you; I mean it wasn't that of a big deal anyway. Thank you for telling me though." Peeta said and received a relieved smile from Cato which Peeta returned.

"Do you feel better now; do you think you can walk on your own?" Cato asked and removed his grip from Peeta.

Peeta made a few test-steps but everything seemed to be alright again. His breathing was even and calm, his nausea feelings were gone and he could walk in a steady pace.  
>"Yes, I think so. Thanks." Peeta answered.<p>

"Would you now tell me what happened in there?" Cato asked and had a serious look in his eyes.

Should Peeta tell him? Somehow he felt the commitment to tell Cato the truth since he'd been doing the same. What could go wrong now anyway?  
>"Well, basically I went to get something to drink and there happened something strange which immensely churned me up, so I stormed out of the kitchen to see the room completely changed… well at least in my eyes. I looked for Katniss but she was nowhere and I couldn't find the others as well so I was left on my own and I started to panic. I wanted to search for them upstairs when I suddenly stumbled over something and fell against the banister. The fall caught me off guard and I only felt a blur. When I stood up my vision was filled by white stars, I felt nauseous and I started to hyperventilate. I had to get out so I ran outside and crashed down at the sidewalk…and then you came."<br>He decided to leave the part with Marvel out, because who knew for what it was worth, and while telling this, Peeta noticed he must have seemed like a complete freak, who couldn't even stay alone for a few minutes.

Cato nodded understanding. "I see, but why did you react so harsh to this? That couldn't be everything if it caused you to hyperventilate and panic."

A few seconds of silence filled the night air. The streets were empty and they were the only two people that were on the streets.  
>Peeta of course knew the answer to Cato's question, but could he trust him? Could he tell him the reasons?<br>Peeta knew they weren't close, but he needed someone to understand his character and personality. At this moment Cato seemed to be the only one that could perceive and comprehend this.

Peeta took a deep breath, knowing all too well what he would have to re-experience in the following minutes.  
>"A year ago my mother and my younger brother Lucas died in an accident when our summer vacation house had been destroyed by a terrible storm. Ever since then I felt lonely, lost, completely left to myself and awfully empty. I thought my life would end as well and I didn't see the sense in life anymore. I'd been suicidal and time was cruel. My father drank himself in alcohol and didn't care about me anymore and I had to go through this all by myself." Peeta took a breath, a single tear rolling down his cheek.<br>"I thought it couldn't become worse but destiny proofed me how wrong I'd been. I was bullied at my old school and one late afternoon in summer when it had already darkened, I had gotten detention, because the bullies claimed I'd stolen one of the guy's phones. When detention was over it had already been dark, I had a very long school day and the detention took up to two hours, because the supervising teacher forgot the time while he'd been correcting exams. When I left the school and walked down the usual alleyway to get home, suddenly a hand pressed my mouth shut and two strong arms pulled me into the bushes. There I looked right into the face of five students with white masks on, each one seemed to be older than me and altogether they were ten times as strong as I was. Three of them kept hold of me while the two others were hitting me several times. They beat me up until I choked blood and every part of my body was either bruised or bloody. After that I had a few fractures and an open, steady bleeding wound on my head and left alone on the cold, wet grass. If that one pedestrian hadn't found me, I probably would have died there. I was brought to hospital and stayed there for two weeks. I assumed my attackers were the bullies, but they were never punished since I didn't have any proof and the attackers had white masks and black clothing on that hid ever little evidence. The police said it were probably anonymous attackers that were walking around in the park at that late night and just took use of me. The students from school who used to bully me of course had all alibis that night and in the end everyone said I was still traumatized by the death of my mother and brother so that I didn't see things correctly and tended to make wild conclusions. For sure, deep in myself I knew that it was them, but no one believed me. Of course that's why they never found my attackers and described this incident as unlucky." When Peeta said the last sentence he fought with tears but couldn't keep them in.

"God Peeta, oh my god I am so so so sorry." Cato muttered and grabbed Peeta into his arms who couldn't prevent the cries and sobs even more.  
>Shocked, Cato tried to sooth the smaller boy down. "Shhh, Peeta. It's okay, you're safe, I'm here with you, nothing will happen." He said while stroking Peeta's back in a calming movement.<p>

They just stood there on the side of the street, Cato who held Peeta and Peeta who cried into Cato's shoulder.  
>After a few minutes Peeta probably let out all tears he had left and actually wondered about the position he and Cato were in, but to Peeta's surprise he liked it and right now needed it more than anything else. He didn't have any human contact in months and it felt good to have someone who embraced him with warmth and comfort. Peeta supposed it was some normal reaction anyway if someone had been told such cruel things by another one, who right after telling it, burst out in tears.<p>

When Peeta's tears became less and the sobs stopped, Peeta decided to free himself from the embrace.

"I'm sorry, I lost things." Peeta stuttered and took a deep breath.

"Hey, it's fine. I am sorry for all the things that happened to you, this is so terrible, I'm really so sorry, I don't even know what to say." Cato replied and scratched his forehead.

"It's alright, you don't have to be sorry Cato and it's not your fault anyway. I shouldn't have told you that." Peeta said as they continued their walk to Peeta's house.

"No Peeta, you shouldn't blame yourself for what was done to you. People are cruel and reckless and they should burn in jail for what they did, especially those who labeled you as 'traumatized' so that you couldn't make right decisions for yourself. That's so blinded and silly; I can't find the right words." Cato looked down at Peeta and noticed the vulnerability he radiated.  
>"I assume you didn't tell that anyone before, did you?"<p>

Peeta shook his head. "You're the first one I told that since I'm here." He let out a breath.  
>"And I feel relieved." He added.<p>

Peeta looked up and smiled at Cato. Cato smiled as well and warmth spread in Peeta's stomach. They stared at each other for a while, blue clashing with blue a second time, but this time Peeta realized how beautiful Cato's eyes were; they had a light shape of an ice blue with a splash of a turquoise crystal-clear ocean blue. Peeta noticed Cato was looking at his eyes the same way he'd been looking at Cato's eyes and a light blush occurred on Peeta's cheeks.  
>Then Cato smiled which turned into a chuckle.<p>

"What?" Peeta asked, a smile on his lips as well.

"Nothing, just… your eyes are beautiful." Cato said and stared right again into Peeta's eyes.

Peeta blushed a deep red and he couldn't hide the huge smile that started to form on his lips.  
>"Thank you." Peeta mumbled, almost inaudible.<p>

"No need for." Cato replied and slightly grazed Peeta's right hand with his own.

The rest of their walk they spent next to each other in silence, but it was not an uncomfortable, embarrassing silence, more a pleasant, enjoying-each-other's-presence silence.  
>Peeta didn't know what happened but he suddenly felt different about Cato, there was something about Peeta that made him curious to know more about Cato…and maybe even a bit more than that.<p>

At some occasions Cato's hands slightly grazed Peeta's and sometimes their hands brushed so obviously together that Peeta had the appearance Cato did it on purpose, but when he looked up he saw Cato looking straight on the street and only a playful glisten in Cato's eyes revealed him, but Peeta wasn't sure if it were just the streetlamps that reflected in the taller blonde's eyes.

"There we are." Peeta said and interrupted the silence.

"Hm?" Cato asked and looked at Peeta.

"There is my house." Peeta replied and pointed to the bakery at the corner.

"Oh right, Mellark Bakery. I'll bring you to the door." Cato said and followed Peeta to the house.

They walked behind the bakery where Peeta would be able to enter the house. They stepped the sidewalk along and then followed the small stone path, which led past a few flower beds to the small terrace where the door was placed.

They stood awkwardly in front of the door, both not sure how to say goodbye to each other.

"I enjoyed the walk." Cato said and smiled innocently.

"Me too." Peeta said and blushed.

"You think you would give me your phone number?" Cato asked and already picked out his phone.

"What? Y-yes, of course." Peeta said, his blush got worse and he quickly grabbed Cato's phone and typed in his number.

"Thanks." Cato smiled and grabbed the phone. "I'd really like to repeat this, Peeta." He said and slightly brushed his hand against Peeta's, this time definitely on purpose.

Peeta blushed even more if that was even possible and almost forgot to answer. "Y-yes, I would like that as well."

Suddenly Cato leaned forwards and pressed his lips on Peeta's. Startled from the sudden contact Peeta immediately stepped back, his cheeks were on fire. Cato had a bewildered expression on his face but his eyes were still glistening playfully.  
>Peeta walked another step back, he looked at Cato with a sweet innocent smile on his lips, he opened the door and walked inside. Before he shut the door he gave a last look at Cato, who had his mysterious, playful grin on his mouth that Peeta already knew so well.<br>Peeta then closed the door and as soon as he was inside he let out a deep sigh. He walked upstairs and his thoughts were only about what just happened.  
>Did Cato really want to kiss him? Peeta really liked the walk and he definitely got very interested at Cato, but did that mean to kiss him all of a sudden? Though as Peeta thought it through, the memory of how Cato's lips felt on his own, even if it was just for a tiny second, was more than nice.<br>It was just that Peeta pushed back because he'd been caught off guard and the kiss didn't feel right, it was too early. If it would ever happen then Peeta would want it the right way, it should be perfect.  
>One thing was clear though, Peeta felt completely warm, protected and secure around Cato and he didn't want to miss this feeling.<p>

* * *

><p>An hour later Peeta was laying in bed with a just finished sketch in his hands. Meanwhile it was 1AM and Peeta got really tired, the day exhausted him and everything he now needed was to have some rest.<br>Peeta's father was already sleeping when Peeta came home, so he only took a shower, got ready for bed and then drew a little sketch of Cato, which he now held in his hands.

Suddenly Peeta's phone vibrated and he received a text message.

_- I enjoyed talking to you, would u like to hang out with me tomorrow? – Cato -_

As Peeta read the message his heart pounded slightly heavier.  
>He also enjoyed talking to Cato, very much even… would he want to see him tomorrow again? Peeta thought about it and he really urgently wanted to see Cato again.<p>

_- I would. Will you pick me up? -_

A few seconds later Peeta's phone vibrated again and he already got a reply.

_- I'll be there 2PM, good night ;) -_ _  
><em>  
>Wow, was that a date? Did Peeta have a date with Cato?<br>He shut his handy, laid it down next to him on the bedside table and closed his eyes.  
>Tomorrow would be a great Saturday.<p> 


End file.
